


bruised knuckles

by Imnotweirdjustwriting



Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Fighting, M/M, improper first aid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-29
Updated: 2017-04-29
Packaged: 2018-10-25 04:52:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10757091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imnotweirdjustwriting/pseuds/Imnotweirdjustwriting
Summary: Jack finds Davey after a fight with the Delanceys and patches him up.





	bruised knuckles

Oscar shoved David hard, his body hitting the wall with a loud thud. The air left Davey's body in a painful whoosh. His back ached from slamming against the brick. He groaned, gasping for air. A fist connected with the side of his face, sending his world spinning.

One of the Delanceys, Oscar if he was thinking clearly, grabbed Davey's tie. He pulled Davey towards him, his ugly face two times closer than Davey ever wanted it to be. The world stopped spinning and focused on the tie slowly cutting off his breath. Davey opened his mouth to say something and was rudely cut off by Oscar's fist.

Hot blood pulsed down his face from his nose, the taste heavy on his tongue. He thought maybe one of his teeth was loose. His face felt like fire.

"Don't try to speak," Oscar said. "You've gotta learn to keep your mouth shut."

Davey spit, splattering Oscar with the blood from his nose. Oscar wrenched back, wiping at his shirt. Davey heaved in breath, his tie loose again. He hadn't realized how hard it was to breathe. He pulled himself away from the wall. Oscar was still fussing over the blood on his shirt, his knuckles shiny with brass. Davey watched him, moving towards the end of the alley to run.

Morris grabbed him. He wrenched Davey's arm back. Davey could only manage to let out a pained gasp. He knew if Morris kept pulling, his arm would break. He couldn't afford that. He struggled against him, kicking uselessly. Morris laughed, turning Davey to face his brother. Oscar was grinning at him, his brass knuckled fist up for Davey to see. Davey braced himself before Oscar's fist made contact. It hurt, an explosion of pain beneath his ribs. He struggled to breathe through the pain, gasping for air as Oscar hit him again, and again. His chest felt like it was on fire, black spots danced across his vision.

Oscar seemed to notice this and paused. "Let him go."

Davey dropped to the ground the second Morris stopped holding him up. He managed a groan, his mouth still full of blood. Oscar laughed. Davey could see his leg pulling back. He closed his eyes, bracing himself for the kick. It wasn't enough. He let out something like a sob, his ribs screaming in pain. He knew they weren't going to stop. Chances were Davey would bleed out in this alley when they were done with him. He just hoped Les wouldn't be the one to find him.

Davey curled in on himself, trying to protect his chest from Oscar's next kick. It didn't come. Instead he heard the sound of a fist connecting with someone's face. He was quite familiar with the sound now. He didn't open his eyes, just lay there until he heard the heavy footsteps of Oscar and Morris take off down the alley. He didn't want to know what happened. He curled tighter in on himself, the silence of the alley pressing in.

 

Jack found Davey too late. He had been there that morning when Davey had said something snarky to the Delancys. There was something about the glint in Oscar's eye that had Jack worried all day. He'd tried to walk Davey home, but he'd lost him in the crowd. He’d checked everywhere, and was heading him before the dark set in fully when he heard the fight in an alley.

The sight of Davey on the ground, Oscar kicking him, Morris laughing- it was too much. Jack's vision had gone red. He hadn't hesitated, yanking Oscar towards him by the back of his shirt and smashing a fist into his face.

Sure Morris had managed to land a hit on Jack before they'd fled, but the dull pain wasn't too bad.

Jack crouched next to Davey, his hands shaking as he reached for him. Davey was turned away from him, his arms wrapped around himself.

"Davey?" He started.

"Leave, Jack. I'm fine." He said. His voice almost sounded normal, but it was strained. Jack guessed it was from pain.

"Please, Dave, let me help you." His hands were frozen, almost touching David. Davey tensed, let out an audible breath, and finally turned to face Jack.

Jack's heart skipped a beat. He didn't want to register what he was seeing. Davey looked... bad. Really really bad. Jack's fists clenched involuntarily, the ache it sent across his knuckles nothing compared to the ache he felt in his chest.

He forced himself to focus on Davey, taking an inventory of his injuries. His hands were scratched, knuckles bruised like he'd managed to land a few punches on the brothers. His neck was bruised as well, Jack was pretty sure it was the result of them pulling on Davey's tie. Jack kept staring at David's throat, preparing himself to look at his face. God- his face. One of his eyes was almost swollen shut. Blood oozed out of his nose, the dried blood caked to his lips and chin. There was a nasty gash on his head that Jack hoped wouldn't need stitches. He really wasn't sure he would have recognized Davey if it weren't for the blue of his eyes.

"Oh, Jack," Davey let go of his side, reaching for Jack's face. He touched just above his eye, a tiny twinge of pain reminding Jack about Morris' cheap blow to his face. "You're hurt."

Jack grabbed Davey's hand, holding it lightly in his own. "I'm not the one hurt here, Davey. Come on, we gotta get you cleaned up."

Davey nodded. He wasn't resisting Jack at all, but Jack didn't think that was a good thing. It was like he'd just...given up.

"Can you stand up?" He asked. Davey nodded again. Jack stood, still holding onto Davey's hand. Davey started to stand, then grabbed his side and winced.

"Jesus, Dave, what is it?"

Davey's voice was very strained. "It's nothing. It's fine, Jack."

Jack touched Davey's side where his hand was. Davey hissed, recoiling in pain. "They could've busted your damn ribs, Dave."

Davey tried to smile at Jack, but it looked more like a grimace. "I'll be fine, Jack. Just help me home."

Jack barked out a laugh. "Like I wanna drop you off at home looking like this! Your ma will kill me. Come on, let's get you patched up first."

Jack wrapped Davey's arm around his shoulder, half carrying him. Davey's breath kept hitching, his hand tight on Jack's arm. Jack tried to ignore Davey's obvious pain. All the time with the newsies had him well versed in holding onto pride.

"Just a little further, Dave." Jack said.

David didn't say anything. Jack stopped trying to talk to him, focusing on getting him to the lodging house. He knew they had first aid supplies there, and he was betting he could get Race to keep the others away long enough to patch Davey up and send him back home.

"We're here," Jack pointed out the obvious to Davey. Davey let out a soft sigh of relief when they finally stepped inside. Jack lead David to a chair and sat him down. "I'll be right back, I've gotta find the kit."

Jack darted up the stairs, crashing into the rooming area loudly.

"Jack! Where have you been?" Race asked him immediately.

Jack waved him off. "Quiet down, will you? I need the first aid, where is it."

Race looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "You don't look hurt."

"It's not for me, Race! Can you just keep anyone from coming downstairs for a bit?"

Race nodded, knowing better than to ask more questions. He rummaged around under one of the bunks and handing the white box to Jack.

Jack thanked him and went back to Davey. Davey looked ghoulish in the dimly lit room, the blood smeared across his chin making him look a bit like a vampire.

Jack went for the alcohol wipes right away, handing one to Davey and taking one for himself.

"Wipe the blood off around your nose, okay? I don't want to hurt you."

Davey listened to him, gingerly wiping at his nose. Jack used a hand to steady Davey's face while he carefully wiped at Davey's chin. It was perfectly silent except for the sound of Davey's still ragged breaths. Jack was trying to be patient, but he was worried what he might find under the blood.

Davey handed him his wipe when he was done so Jack could throw it away. Jack let out a breath, touching Davey's nose carefully.

"Think it's broken?" He asked.

Davey shook his head. "It just hurts. Please, Jack, it’s fine."

“Calm down I’m keeping you healthy.” Jack moved on to touch the gash on Davey's forehead. Davey winced. "This is gonna hurt to clean, Dave."

"Just do it, Jack." Davey ground out, already bracing himself. Jack worked as quickly as he thought was safe, his fingers slipping each time David made a noise of pain.

"All done. Just gotta wrap it up." Jack found a gauze and roll of bandages. He placed the gauze carefully over Davey's cut and wrapped the bandages around his head to keep it in place. His fingers grazed Davey’s hair, softer than Jack expected.

Davey was scrubbing at his knuckles with a wipe, pulling up dirt and blood to reveal the bruises across them.

Jack could tell they were both stalling.

"Alright, Davey. I gotta look at your ribs now."

Davey fumbled at the buttons of his shirt, his hands shaky. Jack helped him push the shirt down over his shoulders. Jack checked Davey's ribs for any signs of bruising. He was pale, the sickly green and purple standing out starkly against his skin. Jack prodded them very carefully. Davey hissed.

"Calm down, they ain't broken. They're gonna be sore though."

Jack kept checking Davey’s ribs. He already told Davey they weren’t broken, but he didn’t want to stop now. Everything about Davey was pristine and orderly. Jack’s fingers itched to further explore his skin.

"Jack, can I ask you something." Davey asked, his voice quiet. Jack froze, his fingers pressed just below Davey’s collarbone.

"Sure, but I'll tell you right now they won't feel better for a few-"

"Why did you help me?"

Jack blinked. He removed his hands. "What do you mean? I'm your friend, Davey. Of course I'm gonna help you."

"That's not what I mean, Jack. Why did you do all of this? You could have just sent me home."

"I told ya, Dave, your ma would have killed me-"

"I know, Jack! But you don't ever care this much, why do you care now?"

“You’re my friend, David. I can’t afford to lose you.”

“You wouldn’t lose Les, he’s the one you sell with-”

“But I like you!” Jack was nearly yelling.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Jack stopped thinking and acted entirely on impulse. He leaned forward and kissed Davey. Davey stiffened and pulled back, his hand on his lip.

"Ow," he said. He was looking at Jack like he hadn't seen him before. Jack felt his heart sink.

"Hell, Davey, I'm sorry." Jack started. He could feel his breathing picking up, panic setting in quickly.

"It's okay, it doesn't hurt anymore."

Jack stared at Davey. "I mean about kissing you. I'm sorry about that, I shouldn't have."

"What? Jack, that didn’t bother me-”

Jack cut Davey off. “You don’t have to lie to me to make me feel better, I know it’s wrong, I’m sorry. Here, I’ll ask Race to walk you home-”

Davey grabbed Jack by his shirt and pulled him in. The kiss was rough and messy. Jack could taste the residual blood on Davey’s mouth.

Davey pulled back again, wincing. “It just hurt my lip, Jack. I've been waiting on you to do that. Kiss me, I mean."

Davey was smiling at him tentatively.

Jack could feel himself grinning. He kissed Davey again, much gentler this time. He let Davey respond, his hand touching Jack's side lightly. Jack cupped the edge of Davey’s jaw, the skin hot under his hand. David pulled back too soon, barely leaning away from Jack.

"Uh, Jack. I gotta get home eventually tonight." His face was red under the bruises and bandages.

Jack laughed. "Yeah, right. I'll walk you home."

Jack helped Davey back home, laughing and teasing each other. Davey's shirt was still only half buttoned. Jack could tell Davey's side still hurt, but he wasn't complaining at all. They reached Davey's house in record time, Esther slamming the door open the moment they knocked.

"Where have you been! Lord, David, what happened?"

Davey waved his mother off. "I'm fine, Mom. Jack patched me up."

Esther pulled her son inside, fretting over his bloody shirt and bandaged head.

"Jack Kelly, I can't thank you enough." Esther grabbed Jack, pulling him into a hug. "Thank you for helping my son."

Jack awkwardly patted her shoulder. "Just watching after my newsies ma'am."

Jack declined Esther's offer for him to stay with them and walked back to the lodging house alone. He opened the door as quietly as he could, but that still didn't stop Race from hearing him.

"All done with the Walking Mouth?" He asked, his voice teasing.

"Shut your mouth, Race." Jack half-heartedly shoved him away.

Race continued teasing him all the way upstairs. Jack climbed up onto a bunk, shoving Race down when he followed. Race hit the ground with a groan.

Jack rolled over, grinning to himself about Davey. He couldn’t wait to sell papes tomorrow.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry Davey. Wear gloves when handling blood. 
> 
> This was supposed to be more angsty but I saw Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat and I'm too happy. 
> 
> Talk to me about Newsies I love these boys
> 
> Edit 5/7: I watched the Newsies movie today and this is a scene??? If you want to see Davey beaten to a lesser extent with no improper first aid after watch the movie. If not pretend this fic wasn't apparently a vague memory I just wrote.


End file.
